


To Go Is To Survive

by TisUnfortunateThatTheyWrite



Series: In Their Heart Shall Burn [1]
Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Anxiety, Demons, Panic Attack, a lot of anxiety, but it is sad until the end sorry, eventually found and looked after, painful trek, the mark is an ass to have
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-14
Updated: 2017-05-14
Packaged: 2018-10-31 13:08:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10899987
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TisUnfortunateThatTheyWrite/pseuds/TisUnfortunateThatTheyWrite
Summary: Lanaris finds herself within a cave after the events of the battle against a new foe. Her journey back to the Inquisition is both painful and taxing on the poor inquisitor and she goes through one of the more tougher times in her life.





	To Go Is To Survive

"Get up."

Numbness all over. No movement in her limbs. No feeling in her fingers She was so cold that her body seemingly stopped producing any heat at all.

"You're needed."

She opened her eyes slowly, light pouring down from the hole in the ceiling. Where was she? Had she not died? A sudden flood of what had just happened goes through her head. The magister, the dragon, all of it was coming back. The Inquisition... The pain in her head stopped her from thinking too hard and a splitting headache ached in her.

"Get up."

She slowly moved her legs apart and tried to get up. Once she got herself to sit up she flexed her hands trying to get some feeling into them. 'Slowly and carefully' she thought to herself. She looked around the cave, remembering where she fell from. The hole had caved in after she activated the ballista.

Suddenly she realized just how big the cave was and a sudden panic made her wonder if she was actually dead. She calmed herself down however, still a prickle of doubt within her, she rationalised that she couldn't be dead if she was hurt. The dead don't feel anything. She used the rubble to get herself to stand up, the pain in her legs extreme but survivable.

After picking up one of her blades, which slid out if its hilt when she had fallen, she headed towards the tunnel. "Got to get feeling back" she muttered as she slowly began to walk through it. Heavy breathing, chapped lips, her clothes torn and her body battered she made her way through the tunnel. Nearing a corner she heard growls and grim noises, the sounds of demons talking amongst themselves.

'Why now, why this?' She asked herself. Lanaris held her side and steadied her breathing. It was a task even to stand but she knew she had to deal with them to get past. She mustered up her strength and walked down the hall as quietly as possible, leaning against the wall for support. How she was standing was beyond her, but she had to keep going, she had to find warmth. The mark began to make her skin burn as she neared the demons, the crackle alerting them to her location. She reached for one of the blades on her waist.

"Come on!" She shouted and the demons roared back at her smacking it out of her hand. One pushed her to the ground while the other slashed its claws at her. She held an arm up to shield her face. With a shout she thrust her left hand forward and closed her eyes. Intense pain in her hand. A rush of green light. A rift opened up in the air making the demons shriek with pain. Then silence.

Slowly Lana uncovered her face and looked up at the rift as it closed. 'Did... I do that?' She thought. Scared of her own power she buried her burning hand in some snow and sighed heavily.

A awful creeping feeling arose in her. She tried her best to hold on with everything she had, but she broke. Tears falling down her face, she cried. She was so sick of the mark in her hand, so sick of the burden she bore. Everything felt like it was making her suffer. She was so distraught that she couldn't stop, she covered her mouth in an attempt to quieten herself down.

She threw the soft snow in her face, hoping something real would ground her but it didn't work. She forced herself over to where some rocks lay and picked one up and threw it at the wall. She did this again and again and continued for a while until the crying stopped. She threw the last rock towards another tunnel she saw ahead and wiped her face with her sleeve, her face colder than before thanks to its dampness.

"Forget this. No, no, no to all of this!" She picked herself up again and grabbed her knife. "I can't stay here and mope." She mumbled as she looked at it. She gripped it's handle tightly and put it away making her way to the tunnel opposite the one she came from. "I will get out of here." she hissed. "I will find the others." She saw the tunnel's exit to the cold outside. "And I will survive."

Not seconds after she took her first few steps outside did she regret her decision.

"Oh creators..." She shuddered. The cold washed over her, making her joints fill with pain once more. She waded through the snow till she came across a broken cart. She went up to it to see if there was anything she could use. Looking through the boxes and sacks, she found nothing. Deciding to make use of something she used her knife to cut a sack open to use as a blanket. Anything was better than nothing. On she trudged, the comforting crunch of the snow beneath her feet making the experience a tad less horrible.

It was not long till she found a fireplace, long since put out by the mighty force of the wind and snow. She looked behind her but to no avail. She couldn't make out anything in the landscape, except for whatever was a few feet away from her. She searched for signs around the camp that might indicate the direction she should go. Deciding to walk against the snow she trudged onwards.

As Lanaris climbed the mountain the storm had died down, and most of the strength in her body had gone. With what she had left she tried to walk on, hoping if she didn't find her fellow soldiers that she would pass out and not have to feel the biting cold on her skin any longer. She began to smell the faint hint of smoke and with time she saw a small fireplace.

"The coals... they're warm!" She walked over to a rock nearby and with some effort she tip toed and saw what appeared to be a mass of light just over head. She moved, ignoring the pain knowing if she could get close enough that she could somehow get someone, anyone's attention she might survive.

She trudged through the snow and her legs felt heavy, her head light. It wouldn't be long before she fell unconscious, unmoving in the snow. Just before she could make it to the top of the path her legs gave way and at that same moment, miraculously, Cassandra had just walked up the path.

"Who.." She squinted and the white hair had been a clearer indicator than any other. "Inquisitor!" She called behind her, alerting Cullen and rushing over to Lanaris, holding her in her arms. "She is freezing. Quickly we must get her to safety!"

"Cassandra..." Lana managed. She could feel herself slipping from the present, the cold seeping into her bones.

"Inquisitor, stay awake." Cassandra commanded. She couldn't pass out. Cassandra had no idea if the Inquisitor was more harmed than anything.

"I'm... trying..." She did her best to look into her eyes and keep them open, but before Cullen had even approached them both she passed out.

"Cullen!" Cassandra stood up, picking Lanaris up and hurrying over to Cullen. "We need Rintos, she's so cold, she needs a healers attention."

"Got it. Mayner!" Cullen looked over to a scout who had followed him up.

"Yes sir?" A scout hurried over to the two.

"Go back as quickly as you can and alert Mother Giselle and Rintos. We need to see to the Inquisitor at once!"

"Yes sir!" The scout hastily ran off as if their life depended on it.

Cullen and Cassandra hurried down the mountain towards the camp, Lanaris' unmoving body pressed tightly against Cassandra.

"Please be alright..." Cassandra murmured to herself hoping to the Maker that somehow Lanaris was okay.


End file.
